Girls' and women's football award winner

Tuesday 7 August 2012

Grassroots hero John Dickie, from Kelso, has been named winner of the Scottish FA's North region's Volunteer in Girls and Women’s Football Award in the 2012 Scottish FA Grassroots Awards, presented by McDonald’s and the Sunday Mail.

The Grassroots Awards celebrate those young players, coaches and volunteers in the six Scottish FA regions, who dedicate their time to supporting grassroots football in their local community.

John was the main driving force behind the creation of AFC Ladies formed from the old Aberdeen Ladies and Girls Club along with East End Girls FC.

The club now boasts 202 players featuring 147 girls and 55 ladies across all age ranges.

John dedicated many hours of his free time to help set up the club and continues to work daily to help improve AFC Ladies.

It was thanks to John’s tireless hard work that the club recently achieved the Standard Quality Mark status.

John attends every match and training session, while also helping to set up nets, coaching the players and helping to make the opposition teams feel welcome.

Thanks to the tireless work that John does, pushing the club forward at all levels from primary school age to ladies, he has introduced a lot of girls into community football in the North of Scotland.

As winner of the North Volunteer in Girls and Women’s Football Award, John will now be included in the national shortlist, with the National Award winners being announced at a special ceremony at Hampden Park on Thursday September 27th.

Mark Slater, football development officer for the Scottish FA's North region, said: “John is a legend of the game in our eyes and it is right that we take the time, not just to recognise his dedication to the game, but also to say thank you for the enthusiasm and time that he gives up.

"Without the thousands of volunteers, like John, dedicating their time and effort passing on their skills to others, grassroots football in local communities simply wouldn’t happen.

"I want to wish John the best of luck in the national awards later this year, and we look forward to hearing the results.”

John said: “It is a fantastic feeling to have been recognised by people across the region for all the hard work that has gone into developing AFC Ladies.

"The people and community that support this club are fantastic and I wouldn’t do all of this if it wasn’t for them. I just hope that I can do them all proud now I have been put through to the National Awards shortlist."

Other winners from the North region include:

• Best Volunteer in Youth Football – Tommy Regan

• Best Volunteer in Adult Football – Bill Gray

• Best Volunteer in Disability Football – Yvonne Alexander

• Best Volunteer in Schools Football – John Peterson

Voting for the national awards is still open. To vote now for your Professional or Community Club of the Year and Coach of the Year Award click here.